Selecting a childcare center can turn anyone upside down inside out

As you may have read in my previous post, the search for day care has begun for my now 15 month old daughter.

First, let me begin by thanking everyone who gave me great questions and things to look for when choosing a facility.  It was a huge help and made me actually sound knowledgeable.

We have officially visited our first center.  I was hopeful about this center as they offer a half-day program (the only one in the area). All I can say is thank goodness for tours. Here are some things that threw me about the center:

1. Tiny play area near parking lot and a big portable metal storage bin.
2. Day care is on the second floor.  We actually watched children my daughters age crawl up the steps three at a time with a “teacher” following them.  Our question is, what if a child falls down the steps? (Insert picture of parents imagining the domino effect here).  Shiver.
3. Place is not very clean.  Don’t get me wrong, its not “dirty” per se, but uneven carpet padding underneath, and the two year old room we were shown smelled like pee.  Ceiling tiles look like they could fall at any minute.
4. No security code to enter the building.  When you enter the facility, you enter come into a hall way that has class room leading off, etc.  Office is the first thing you see, but what if no one is in the office?
5. My husband, the chef found this one.  Health inspection violation forms.  Two of the violations he mentioned included the facility not having a proper refrigerator (I was unaware that if you serve food in a facility such as that that you cannot have a normal household fridge).  The second, no paper towels in the dispenser in food preparation area.  While my first reaction was “well, we run out all the time at home,” my husband informed me that in the food service industry, this means that people are not following the proper hand washing techniques that require the use of a clean towel for every hand wash.

So, for us, for now, the search will continue.  I’ll keep you posted on our progress!

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